Rodent

Implementing refinement in the EAE mouse model (2025)

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is a model used in rodents to induce inflammation in the central nervous system. It is commonly used as a model for human multiple sclerosis (MS) and other diseases that involve demyelination. EAE has the potential...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Disease/Experimental ModelAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Kuncova, S. 2025. Implementing refinement in the EAE mouse model. Animal Technology and Welfare 24(1), 57–61.

Analgesia administration practices to support minimal handling (2024)

An adequate analgesic strategy is important to improve the postoperative recovery and welfare of laboratoy animals. It is desirable that the method for administering the drug is non-invasive and stress-free. Below are a few methods that we use to minimise...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Analgesia, Drug/Substance Administration, Surgery & Post-OpAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Keenan, R., Lynch, A., Murphy, S. et al. 2024. Analgesia administration practices to support minimal handling. Animal Technology and Welfare 23(3), 239–240.

Juvenile male rats form preferences based on strain when playing in groups but not in pairs (2025)

Like many young mammals, juvenile rats engage in rough-and-tumble play. Play occurs naturally both in wild and laboratory rats, making it a suitable, ethologically relevant behavior to investigate. In the laboratory, rats are typically housed and tested in dyads, despite...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Ham, J. R., Jaiswal, D., Waner-Mariquito, R. et al. 2025. Juvenile male rats form preferences based on strain when playing in groups but not in pairs. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 19.

Physiological effects of environmental enrichment on BALB/c and C57BL/6 strain mice (2025)

Our aim was to assess the effects of enriched environment (EE) on some physiological variables, comparing BALB/c and C57BL/6 strain mice. Female BALB/c and C57BL/6 were individually housed under standard laboratory cages for 6 weeks and randomly separated into groups (n = 7...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Gama, L. A., Almeida, M. A. S. O., de Souza Souto, P. C. et al. 2025. Physiological effects of environmental enrichment on BALB/c and C57BL/6 strain mice. Discover Animals 2(1), 7.

What are the most prevalent welfare issues for pet small mammals? (2025)

The welfare of pet small mammals is an understudied, but growing research topic in the UK and Europe. We surveyed European veterinary experts who each rated severity and prevalence of a large number of issues in the eight most common...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Abnormal/Problematic Behavior, Handling, HousingAnimal Type: Guinea Pig, Hamster, Mouse, Other Rodent, Rabbit, Rodent

Citation: Fenton, L., Benato, L., Mancinelli, E. et al. 2025. What are the most prevalent welfare issues for pet small mammals? Animals 15(10), 1423.

Guinea pig (Cavia porcellus) welfare: Associations between husbandry practices, human–animal interactions, and animal behaviour (2025)

Research on the welfare of pet guinea pigs and connections between their behaviour and husbandry practices is scarce. Through an online survey among 1181 German-speaking guinea pig caretakers, we investigated husbandry practices (including social composition, housing type, free roaming, enrichment,...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Human-Animal Interaction, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Guinea Pig, Rodent

Citation: Elsbacher, T., Sommese, A., Waiblinger, S. et al. 2025. Guinea pig (Cavia porcellus) welfare: Associations between husbandry practices, human–animal interactions, and animal behaviour. Animals 15(8), 1157.

Hamster enrichment and social housing (2024)

Providing our animals with the best welfare possible is one of our main goals as Animal Technicians. As we want to deliver the most appropriate care for our hamsters, we have undertaken some research projects of our own to ensure...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Hamster, Rodent

Citation: Devine, A., Boratyn, A. 2024. Hamster enrichment and social housing. Animal Technology and Welfare 23(3), 205–207.

Phenotypical, behavioral, and systemic hallmarks in end-point mouse scenarios (2025)

The state of frailty is a clinical–biological syndrome that affects the older population with a higher risk of functional dependence. Animal models can provide a tool to study this complex scenario. In the present work, we analyzed the physical and...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Humane EndpointAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Castillo-Mariqueo, L., Alveal-Mellado, D., Giménez-Llort, L. 2025. Phenotypical, Behavioral, and Systemic Hallmarks in End-Point Mouse Scenarios. Animals 15(4), 521.

Repeated restraint stress produces acute and chronic changes in hemodynamic parameters in rats

Noninvasive hemodynamic measurements in rats require placing animals in restrainers. To minimize restraint stress-induced artifacts several habituation protocols have been proposed, however, the results are inconclusive. Here, we evaluated if a four-week habituation is superior to a shorter habituation, or...

Year Published: 2016Topics: RestraintAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Sikora, M., Konopelski, P., Pham, K. et al. 2016. Repeated restraint stress produces acute and chronic changes in hemodynamic parameters in rats. Stress 19(6), 621-629.

The calm mouse: An animal model of stress reduction

Chronic stress is associated with negative health outcomes and is linked with neuroendocrine changes, deleterious effects on innate and adaptive immunity, and central nervous system neuropathology. Although stress management is commonly advocated clinically, there is insufficient mechanistic understanding of how...

Year Published: 2012Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Gurfein, B. T., Stamm, A. W., Bacchetti, P. et al. 2012. The calm mouse: An animal model of stress reduction. Molecular Medicine 18(1), 606-617.